• Projects on the Prairie — 2 p.m. each Tuesday featuring creative painting on June 11; owl demonstration on June 18; Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park on June 25; environmental issues on July 9; and furs on July 16.

The museum is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

“Anything students can be involved in is always going to be a great benefit to them,” the 2013 Arkansas Association of Middle Level Administrators Principal of the Year Kathy Hopson said. “Because sometimes they will learn things that we do not have the opportunity to teach them.”

Hopson, who will take over as the Stuttgart School District’s director of federal programs on July 1, said these activities enhance the students’ basic knowledge, regardless of its subject. It’s necessary help since the summer months already set students back in learning.

According to a just-released National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) survey, teachers say it takes them three to six weeks to “re-teach the previous years’ skills at the beginning of a new school year.”

“Research is clear that a summer without learning opportunities presents a risk for kids, particularly kids in low-income communities,” NSLA reported.

Most youth lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in math skills while low-income youth also drop in reading achievements.

It’s a problem that can be fixed through summer learning programs with “individualized instruction, parental involvement and small classes.” Locally, there are a variety of free resources for parents to utilize in summer education.

One of the best resources is the local public library. “All students should read for 30 minutes per day,” Hopson said. “If they are performing a year behind then they need to be reading for an hour a day.”

Reading is the most important lesson that students could continue. “Of all the teachers I asked to make sure that I, as a librarian, was not being biased, every teacher said reading is the most important,” Park Avenue

Elementary library media specialist Tia Brickey said, adding that students and parents should take turns reading to each other.

Park Avenue Elementary Director of Literacy Martha Morgan said it doesn’t matter what the students read as long as they read.

“Read to your children daily, have them reread passages to improve fluency, ask questions about what the child or parent has read to improve comprehension, encourage your child to read labels at the grocery store, etc.,” Brickey said. “For the really young, continue to review sight words.”

It’s a lesson that can be inexpensive if parents utilize the Stuttgart Public Library, which has already partnered with Meekins to offer incoming fifth- and sixth-graders two novels for each grade to check out.

“This continued reading will ensure students are ready to go for next year,” Stuttgart Teacher of the Year Ashlee Hayes, a sixth-grade literacy teacher, said. “Research says students sometimes lose three months on their reading level or stay at the same level over the summer without sustained reading. We want our students to stay on top!”

Page 2 of 3 - Incoming fifth graders are encouraged to check out and read “My Side of the Mountain” by Jean Craighead George and “Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbitt while incoming sixth graders should check out and read “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen and “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor.

Each student will then have a chance to receive 25 bonus points for each of the two books read. To receive the points, the students must either take an Accelerated Reading (AR) test with an 80 percent or better or write a one-page summary of the book.

“Also, if the student chooses to take an AR test, they can use these AR points toward their first AR goal,” Hayes said. “Students must complete the requirements within the first week of school to receive bonus points.”

The four books will be available for checkout at the Stuttgart Public Library. To checkout the books, students will need a parent to obtain a free library card.

The library also has computers with free Internet service for students to use — a handy tool for students to work on improving their math online.

Over the summer, Hopson said students should continue working on their math skills in multiplying, adding, subtracting and dividing to keep up their fluency.

“Students can access e-books at tumblebooks.com (username: parkavenue and passwords: books),” Brickey said. “On our school website, one can go to the media center page. On the media center page, many resources are listed underneath ‘links.’

“A new one that is wonderful is the Destiny Quest link,” Brickey added. “Students may check out ebooks with this link (provided they got a password from me, which parents could email and get over the summer, if needed). The Destiny Quest link will also allow students to conduct research using reputable databases and online encyclopedias.”

Morgan said another way to help students work on their math and reading skills without adding pressure is to make the lesson a game, such as with dominoes or Yahtzee.

Parents should look for summer programs in which to enroll their children. Both Meekins and Park Avenue offer summer school programs for those who would benefit most from extra help. Students have already been selected for both programs.

Page 3 of 3 - Other programs offered around Stuttgart include the free “Projects on the Prairie” each Tuesday in June and July at the Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie and an arts program through the Arts Center of the Grand Prairie. The Stuttgart Public Library will also host its annual Summer Reading Program.

Each lesson will keep students enjoying the summer while learning throughout the summer months.